Episode 85
* * *
An idea is not something grand.
‘A certain view on the world, society, life, etc.’
As long as people live, each and every one of them has his or her own life, and life soon gives birth to thoughts.
For example, the Red Tower’s ideology that believes without a doubt that ‘power’ is the absolute value in this world.
The King of Pigs believes that spreading one’s seeds and passing down one’s bloodline from generation to generation is the highest value.
Hardline black magicians who believe that mere morality is nothing more than an obstacle in the pursuit of truth. A hellish world of imagination once shown by the captains of the Black Red Training Corps.
The ‘ideas’ that wizards and knights project onto their swords and the world are precisely such concepts.
The values they believe in. Their attitude toward the world, their perspective on life. A systematic collection of consciousness that they have experienced and accumulated while living.
This is the world of ‘Avatar’ and ‘The World of Thought’ that unfolds as the ultimate combination of swords and magic.
Avatar – The knight uses ‘Aura’ to superimpose the idea onto his sword, armor, and body.
The world of ideas – The wizard uses ‘magic’ to superimpose ideas onto the world itself.
The Avatar of the Grimoire is not much different in that context.
A thin sleet flutters along the curtain of night. A white, dark winter night.
There, a steel sword was blocking the blade of the Holy Sword Durandal.
A beloved sword of a warrior who once slaughtered countless strong men as the empire’s hunting dog.
‘Peacemaker’.
Mediator of peace.
The sword with that ironic name was in Dale’s hand, with a fourth circle revolving around his heart.
The realm of the 4th circle. The wall is broken, and a new horizon beyond it comes into view.
Also, the warrior’s sword, Peacemaker, is in Dale’s hand.
It’s not a real sword with a physical body.
A projection of thought. It is nothing more than a ‘realistic mirage’ that the magician superimposes on his own world.
But in the world of ideas, it was never a fleeting house on sand.
Although it may not seem as foolhardy and ridiculous as for a wizard to take up sword-handle and pretend to be a knight, that was not the case with Dale.
I open my eyes and grip the Peacemaker’s hilt. The grip feels very familiar.
‘However, this sword’s abilities have not yet been fully utilized.’
It’s still not enough.
“This is my world.”
Dale muttered again, repeating his self-suggestion endlessly.
This world was not a world built by Dale alone. Dale’s world was never ‘Dale’s world alone’.
Dale from a previous life.
The man had many names: the ultimate monster hunter, the otherworldly warrior, and the imperial hound.
In most cases, there is no guarantee that you will be able to reach the ultimate in either swords or magic even if you devote your entire life to it.
But what about those who have dedicated more than just their ‘whole life’?
That was Dale’s realization, and that realization opened up the horizons of the Four Circles.
The warrior of the other world, and Dale of Saxony.
Fusing two thoughts from two lives into one world. Paradoxically, by holding the sword, he was able to further elevate the ‘realm of the magician’.
I feel strangely light-hearted.
Dale, who had just opened the distance, looked at the King of Pigs who was holding the Holy Sword Durandal.
‘Can we win?’
Dale kicked the ground, projecting the warrior’s martial arts onto his sword.
The sword was swung.
Not even caring about the fact that he was a wizard who couldn’t use Aura, he just held the hilt of the sword ‘Peacemaker’ without even an avatar.
Kaang!
The Holy Sword and Dale’s sword clashed.
Kaang!
They collided, distanced themselves, and collided again. With each collision, the power dormant in Peacemaker was awakened.
Furthermore, my memories as a more certain warrior were revived.
At the same time, Dale’s black surcoat fluttered, creating a blade of shadow. It accelerated four circles and released an endless torrent of black magic.
“Shard Magnum.”
Creates an instant ice wall and blasts it, scattering ice shards.
“Shadow Bullet, Gatling-style.”
Instantly, shadow bullets poured down along the hem of the cloak at his feet. Both the power and speed of the magic were amplified beyond comparison.
Sword and magic.
By covering up the blind spot of not being able to wield a sword and use an aura at the same time with magic, he is barely able to maintain a level playing field with one of the continent’s strongest knights.
My body feels light. It’s incredibly light, and the world seems to slow down. The feeling of holding a sword is so familiar that I forget that I’m a wizard.
This movement makes you wonder if it really is a ‘knight who cannot use aura’.
‘I can do it… …!’
What filled Dale’s mind was certainty.
It was just then.
“You’re doing quite well, dear.”
The holy swordsman with the face of a boar smiled, showing off his molars.
“… … !”
At the same time, the fighting spirit that was spreading out from the Holy Swordsman’s body began to swirl like a storm.
The spirit of dedication.
It was when Dale was about to confront him and test his newfound powers.
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─ The time has come.
widely!
‘Death’ struck the floor with his skull staff. The entire landscape came to a halt.
The figures of the Holy Swordsman and the Imperial Army disappeared like a mirage, and all that remained was Dale alone.
A horizon filled with cold and loneliness.
There was ‘Death’, who seemed to be looking at a Victorian-era British gentleman, and ‘Old Dark Mother’, who seemed to be looking at a contemporary dignified lady.
She was not an innocent, young girl, but a pitch-black lady with two towering black horns.
Archetypes at the base of the collective unconscious.
An ancient image that people have shared unconsciously since ancient times before history began.
Beings that transcend time and borders, and serve as motifs for various myths and legends. Symbols of the ancient times──their incarnations were looking at Dale.
So Dale asked.
“Did you know my identity from the beginning?”
─ Oh, we know so many things, baby.
‘Death’ answered, holding a skull staff in one hand and a cigar in the other.
─ The name of the most delicious cigar in the universe… … .
Death continued speaking, with a cigar in his mouth.
─ And how did you get out of ‘my visit’?
“… … !”
At those words, Dale swallowed softly. After swallowing, Dale opened his mouth to say something.
however.
─ Oh, don’t worry too much.
‘Death’ interrupted him, as if there was nothing to worry about.
─ Because death is always tight-lipped.
widely!
At the same time, ‘Death’ struck down his skull staff again, with a cigar in his mouth.
Dale’s world disappeared. Before he knew it, it was a room in the Duke of Saxony’s castle.
“… … .”
The office of the Duke of Saxony, his father. After looking around, Dale looked at his father.
“It looks like he passed his test without a hitch.”
The black ball opened its mouth without hiding its satisfaction.
“That being… … .”
“When I reached the world of truth, I made a pact with ‘death.’”
The black ball said.
“I have finally succeeded in drawing out a part of its existence through my grimoire──『The Scales of the Heart』.”
“That being said, the Immortal Frederick too… … .”
“Yes.”
The Immortal Frederick also succeeded in reaching the ‘world of truth’. The Book of the Black Goat, which he had written earlier and which had taken root in Dale’s heart, is proof of this.
“But those beings who are next to us.”
The black ball continues speaking.
“It is nothing more than a ‘shadow’ reflected on the cave wall.”
It is not the real thing, but rather a part of the shadow cast by the real thing.
“This world is one big cave.”
“… … .”
“We are prisoners who believe that the shadows on the cave walls are the truth.”
That is why the magician seeks the world of light beyond the cave, the world of truth (Idea). The end point of thought.
“I guess it was a bit of a difficult story for you.”
After saying that, the black ball soon smiled. It was a smile that a father could not hide.
“Congratulations on reaching the 4th circle level.”
The pitch-black tentacles that have taken root in the heart are wrapping around Dale’s four circles. Four circles. A proper wizard, and a level beyond that.
Even reaching the 3rd circle in one’s early twenties is not an exaggeration to call one a genius, and it is not uncommon for those without talent to devote their entire lives to not reaching the 4th circle.
He acquired that very domain at the young age of twelve.
An achievement that cannot even be described by the word ‘wonderful’. That is the fame of the ‘Black Confucius’ that people talk about.
And with this newfound knowledge, it was time to prepare for the next journey.
* * *
“Teacher Sepia.”
Around that time, Dale, who had reached the level of the 4th Circle, reported his achievements.
“… … It seems I have nothing more to teach you.”
The elf wizard of the 6th circle smiled bitterly.
“No way.”
Dale shook his head and laughed.
“There are still so many things I want to learn from Teacher Sepia.”
Even though they had a mutual exchange of feelings, Sepia was still young Dale’s tutor.
Furthermore, the level of skill of the elf wizard of the 6th circle was by no means something to be ridiculed.
Above all, the skill Sepia showed that day against the elder of the Red Tower, ‘Walter the Bloodthirsty’.
Spell Counter.
“Is there any other magic you would like to learn?”
To Sepia’s question, Dale nodded without a moment’s hesitation.
A genius magician of the 4th circle. Furthermore, he is a dual mage who pursues the dual attributes of water and darkness.
“I want to learn dispel magic.”
* * *
The next day, Sir Helmut Blackbear tilted his head in puzzlement.
Dale, who was supposed to practice swordsmanship with a shadow cloak as usual, volunteered to practice with a ‘knight’s sword’ like them.
“A formal sword… …?”
At the unexpected appearance, Sir Helmut tilted his head in puzzlement.
“There’s something I want to try.”
Dale answered as blandly as ever.
“How far can a wizard who can’t use Auras stand on equal terms with a knight?”
“Do you insist on fighting in a knightly manner?”
Wizards can also strengthen their bodies in their own way. However, it is by no means comparable to the body of a knight who uses ‘Aura’. It would be absurd, reckless, and inefficient.
That was the thought of the Continental Seven Swordsman, Sir Helmut Blackbear, but what was in front of him was the ‘Black Prince’.
“Very well, Your Majesty!”
That’s why Sir Helmut had no doubts.
“Just because it’s a wizard’s sword, you shouldn’t underestimate it.”
Dale fixed the hilt of his sword. With the awakening of the 4th circle, he recalled the sword he held in his hand from his previous life.
After reaching the level of the 4th circle, the direction Dale was pursuing became very easy to understand.
Beginner’s mind.
It’s the same as when I first performed at the Duke of Saxony.
Among the best teachers, including the swordsman Helmut, the black gong, and the elf wizard Sepia, he unleashed and refined his talents without holding back.
And the Dale of today was not the rookie he was back then, when he had just wielded a sword and created a circle.
